Southern
Mississippi Vs. Nevada
2011 competition:
I give the slightest edge in tougher schedule to Nevada.
Over achieving,
and Under Achieving 2011: I give an edge here to S.Miss with their 11-2
record vs. the Wolfpack’s 7-5
Game focus: I give the Wolfpack a HUGE/Hands Down
advantage in this area (see below)
Bowl (Big Game) History:
Nevada: is 4-7
since their first bowl appearance in 1948.
They are going to their 7th bowl in the last 7seasons—and their 3rd
bowl in Hawaii in that recent span. The Pack
is 2-4 in Bowl play since 2005.
S. Miss: are no
strangers to post season Bowl games; they are 9-11 all-time in bowl games, and
went to bowl games all but 2001 and 2010 in the new millennium, and winning 5
of those contests. Fedora is (w/ S.
Miss) 1-2, and not winning a bowl game since 2008.
NOTES:
Southern Miss higher ups are calling this trip to Hawaii as
a “once in a lifetime” ordeal, that is not the case for most of the Wolf Packs
players. All but Nevada freshmen have
been to Honolulu’s Aloha Stadium—the team has played there 4 times since 2007. None of the So. Miss players have played in Honolulu in
their college careers—obviously—the Golden Eagles last team visit to Hawaii was
in 1977.
Player/Coaches
Quotes:
Nevada’s Defensive
Lineman Brett Roy stated “We have been to paradise before, and we lost in
paradise, so we know it’s a business trip”
S.Miss’s Sr. Linebacker Ronnie Thorton “coming up
here we understood that this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to come
to Hawaii” and “this may be our last
time being together” “So we just wanted
to come out and have a little fun and
spent time with each other. It’s turned
out great thus far, and we have some pretty interesting upcoming events that we’re
supposed to attend.
S.Miss’s Sr. QB
Austin Davis “and a lot of guys, this will be their only time to ever come
to Hawaii and experience this, and I think that was the big deciding factor to
be here, and we’ll get to play a good football team on Saturday, so that will
be good” >>> if you were to guess, what sounds like the ‘priority’
to Davis, the game, or the experience? Hmmmm<<<<<<.
Motivation: Southern Miss’s senior classmen could win
their 34th on Saturday and that would tie the program’s best win
record in a 4 year period. This 12th
win for the season would be the first of Southern S.Miss’s history—no S.
Miss team has ever won 11 either. There is
certainly a lot to be accomplished by beating the Wolfpack on Saturday.
Nevada: The WP believes they are a better team than
their 7-5 record indicates; they have a valid argument to this fact. 3 of the Pack’s losses were by a combined
score of 8 pts (Utah St, Louisiana Tech, and Texas Tech). Two of those opponents were bowl teams (2 of
those were bowl teams this seaon). The
Wolfpack wants to go out and prove their worth to a national audience on
Saturday.